We started our honeymoon at the Inn at 213 Seventeen Mile Drive with high expectations. We'd read the rave reviews and were excited to stay in the Pelican Cottage and relax after a hectic few months. We got married Saturday and flew into San Jose on Monday morning. The drive to Monterey is short and pretty, and we immediately loved the area when we arrived. We explored the shops and drove along the beach until we could check in at 3 p.m. When we arrived at the hotel, the innkeeper Diana welcomed us and said, "oh you're the newlyweds, congratulations!" She showed us to our cute cottage, which we instantly liked. Positives: it was private (no adjoining rooms) and the bed was comfortable. Negatives: the room was freezing when we got there and the heat and fireplace seemed to take forever to work, there was only a shower (no bathtub) and there was no ventilation so we woke up every day to condensation on every window. A very damp smell permeated the air the whole time. Overall, we thought the cottage was cute and nice for $160 a night.

Diana and Charlie were very friendly and gave us dinner recommendations in Monterey and Pacific Grove. They were taking a couple of nights off though, so substitute innkeepers (Bill and Pat) were taking over. We also thought Pat and especially Bill were very friendly and helpful and we really liked them too. The wine and snacks were a nice touch and we stopped by for a few minutes before heading out for dinner. The other guests were having animated chats, but we mostly kept to ourselves. We are in our late 20s and mid 30s, so we were admittedly a little younger than the average guest as well.

I was disappointed in a couple of things overall at the Inn. First of all, the breakfasts were just average. I'd read how gourmet a cook Charlie was, but we had an okay breakfast the first day (eggs, potatoes and sausage) and a plain breakfast the second day (plain pancakes and store bought ham). Also, I thought the inn would do something to recognize that we were honeymooners. We didn't expect a lot, but we hoped for something more than just "congratulations!" For example, the B&B we went after in Paso Robles had a chilled bottle of champagne and truffles waiting for us. That kind of small touch was appreciated, especially as Monterey was the first stop on our honeymoon and we were still all wound up from the wedding. I figure this is because Bill and Pat were not the usual innkeepers and probably were overwhelmed because the Inn was full.

All that said, the inn was in a wonderful location, not far from the beach. We liked it and appreciated its quirks (such as the hot tub not far from our back window) but we likely would try somewhere else next time we return to Monterey.

One sidenote, we loved the Mexican restaurant in Monterey called El Torito. The view is amazing and they had a good happy hour in the lounge. We also enjoyed Vivolo's chowder house. We would not recommend Latitudes at Lover's Point...even though the view was amazing, the food and service were not good.